Tolls for Compact, Small, and Large Vehicles Remain Unchanged
Starting from 12:00 AM on July 1, the toll for medium-sized vehicles on the privately funded Local Road No. 1030 between Changwon in Gyeongnam and Busan will increase by 100 won, from the current 1,600 won to 1,700 won.
After this time, vehicles entering the Changwon Tollgate or Noksan Tollgate on the Changwon-Busan road will be required to pay the adjusted toll.
The toll for this road is adjusted every year on April 1 to reflect the previous year’s inflation rate. The toll amount and the timing of the adjustment are finalized by Gyeongnam Province after discussions with Gyeongnam Highway, the project operator for the privately funded Changwon-Busan road.
Gyeongnam Province stated that it received the 2025 toll adjustment proposal from Gyeongnam Highway in January of this year and was originally supposed to implement it from April 1. However, in line with the government’s policy of focusing on price stabilization in the first half of the year, the toll was frozen and the adjustment will instead be implemented from July 1 in the second half of the year.
The adjustment plan increases the toll for medium-sized vehicles?including vans with 17 or more seats, 2.5 to less than 10-ton trucks, and other two-axle vehicles?by 100 won to 1,700 won, while keeping the tolls for compact cars, small cars, and large vehicles unchanged.
The revenue loss caused by delaying the adjustment by about three months will be covered by provincial funds.
The province expressed concern that if the toll freeze continues, it would have to continuously compensate the project operator for the entire revenue loss with provincial funds under the agreement, effectively passing the burden of road use onto all residents of the province.
Additionally, the province explained that if a significant toll increase is implemented all at once in the future to reflect inflation, it would place a greater burden on road users. Taking these factors into consideration, the decision was made to raise the toll in the second half of the year.
To minimize confusion among road users before the toll adjustment, the province plans to widely publicize the changes through both online and offline channels, including displaying the information on electronic signboards along the Changwon-Busan road section, posting banners, and providing notifications on its website.
Park Sungjun, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau, said, "We ask for your understanding regarding the unavoidable toll increase in the second half of this year," adding, "We will strive to create a road environment where the benefits of using the privately funded road can be clearly felt."
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